Russell Street School Impressions

For our assignment this week, Dr. Barbour had us “visit” Russell Street School’s website and their Google Site to take a look at how their elementary students and teachers were using blogging as an educational tool, and to then share about our impressions on a class blog. I viewed several blogs, from what appeared to be kindergarteners all the way up to maybe 5th grade age, to get an overall impression of how blogging is used.

I completely understand why we were given this task. The students at Russell Street School use blogging as an integral part of their learning curriculum, and as a result, we get to view authentic examples of what we are learning about in school.

The Little Einsteins blog (Kindergarten, I believe) was filled with an assortment of learning experiences and information for the families and students. I was really impressed at how well laid out the blog was, and how many resources were made available including academics and the arts. I read one post that encouraged parents and family members from around the world to leave comments because the students enjoyed receiving feedback. I could easily imagine the teacher reading all of the comments as a daily “read aloud”. Modeling is a huge part of teaching, and this class blog gives plenty of opportunities to model effective communication strategies, even as early as kindergarten.

Another blog that caught my eye was one from older students called Poutama. This blog was used by 3 different classes and included 90 participants. It was rich in text and images, as you would hope an upper elementary blog would be, but it had a community feel to it because the teacher interacted with the students on the blog. One thing that caught my eye was a discussion entry post called “What a Win” that was written to elicit critical thinking skills about an athlete’s mindset in a recent athletic game. I could see the connection to real world experiences, and not just something out of a textbook. Students were expected to share their opinions on the discussion questions, just as we did for one of our blog assignments.

In my 504 class (theories of educational technology), I researched and wrote about “Communities of Practice”, an emerging theory based upon the philosophy that learning occurs when groups of people are brought together by a common purpose, and in doing so, learn more effectively  as they interact with each other. This seemed to radiate through the blogging I viewed at Russell Street School, and is at the heart of how I hope my "blogging with students" experience to be.

Russell Street School Blogging

I was really impressed with the activity and the content in this site. There is much to learn just by looking and reflecting. What I noticed and what I have taken away most is that content is king. It doesn't have to be perfect, or look amazing. It just has to exist. The children are clearly involved and whenever children are given responsibility, there is a good chance that they rise to it.

I also noticed the use of the word 'self' a lot. Pupils, faculty, parents and families are all obviously involved in this community and blogging and communicating has become an important part of that. I particularly like the use of video and am looking forward to next week to see how I can start to use different media in my blog to engage a little more.

Perhaps my favorite takeaway is that there is not just one way to do it. It seems like lots of styles and poeple all coming together and painting a picture of life inside the school. My little boy trotted into the room when I was watching one of the videos. He is 3. He stood there and watched 2 or 3 videos and then asked if it was my school. "That's cool. Is that your school Daddy, where I am going?" I wish it was.

Russell Street School Impression

I'm impressed by the artistic culture of this school and how they present themselves online. It's impressive to see the activity and use of technology not just by the teachers, but by the students as well. Russell Street School takes a different approach to education by creating a digital platform to give the opportunity to the students to display their work, ideas, and opinions. Russell Street gives the students a voice into their own education by allowing them the opportunity to take part in the exhibit of their school. I noticed the layout is by room and then it breaks it down to each student having their own blog, which brings the classroom to life and then gives it an individual voice through each student's blog.

This style of education is accessing the whole student by giving them a voice, building their confidence, creating an independence within the entirety of the student body, showcasing their talents and the dynamic of the school, which sees importance in the arts and physical education that I feel lacks in our school system. The idea of generating a website to share to the world with the students involvement through their voices, within their blogs, and the individual classrooms displaying their daily activities gives insight into the style of education and the perspective this school stands for. I enjoyed the dances the students presented and the music they preformed within the videos, it gives a great sense of cultural pride within this school setting. It was interesting to read some of the students' blogs and how well written and thought out they were. In some of my research, I've found that blogging enhances reading and writing skills and gives the students ability to be creative and think more critically. You can see this in many of the blogs by the individual students and many of the students had videos, which showcase the things they were proud of.

It's commendable that Russell Street School has set a strong foundation utilizing technology within their school. They are on the right track to building the whole student and enhancing the learning environment. I would love to see our education system to seek out the importance of building the arts within our school and allowing students to employ their own thoughts and ideas through the use of blogs where the students can be the community within the school. It gives the students a sense of ownership in their school and in return, builds confidence and pride in the work they put out for their education. I admire the work of Russell Street School and I congratulate them on a well thought out curriculum that encompasses a strong foundation to build successful students.